King Carlos III will receive this Monday the President of the European Commission, Ursula von de Leyen, outside the negotiations with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, on post-Brexit relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
“The King is delighted to meet any world leader who visits the UK and does so on the advice of the Government,” a spokesman for the royal family said.
The meeting will take place this afternoon at Windsor Castle, after a meeting between the European leader and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to try to reach an agreement on the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the withdrawal agreement from United Kingdom of the European Union. (EU).
Sunak and Von de Leyen are expected to end months of intense negotiations to resolve disagreements over new customs rules and policies stemming from ‘Brexit’ that distinguish the province of Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
If the pact is concluded today, the British prime minister and the president of the European Commission will give a press conference.
Sunak is then due to make a statement in the House of Commons to explain the details of the deal to MPs, followed by a vote.
Under the terms of the current protocol, customs checks on UK-EU trade are carried out at points of entry into Northern Ireland, avoiding building a physical border with the neighboring Republic of Ireland so as not to jeopardize the 1998 peace agreement.
This commercial border, located in the Irish Sea, is seen by unionists, defenders of the status of Northern Ireland as a British territory, as a threat to the relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom.
In February 2022, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) overthrew the regional government and prevented the formation of a new autonomous assembly since the May elections.
Source: TSF
